– QUINTON JACKSON RETURNS TO THE PUBLIC EYE

MINNEAPOLIS
– Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson –
recently the subject of a police chase in California – re-emerged in the
public eye on Thursday, of all places, at the pre-fight press conference for
UFC 87 in Minneapolis.

Though
not delving too deep into his legal situation, both Jackson and Ultimate
Fighting Championship president Dana White addressed the media and a throng of
fans that gathered for the press conference at the Rotunda at the Mall of
America.

“Rampage
lost the fight to Forrest Griffin. He hung out in Vegas for a week. He was
hanging out by the pool and he was fasting. He wasn’t drinking; he wasn’t
eating. He was drinking energy drinks,” explained White.

“You
saw what happened on TV, the problems that he had,” he continued. “They took
him in for psychiatric evaluation for over 72 hours. What they came back with
was that there was nothing wrong with him mentally; it was physically.

“He
was exhausted. He had severe dehydration. And that caused something called
delirium.

According
to the Mayo Clinic, “delirium is a decline in attention, awareness and mental
clarity often triggered by serious illness. The signs of delirium may include
restlessness, agitation and combativeness.”

Researchers,
again according to the May Clinic, have not determined an exact cause of
delirium, but it is often triggered by “a combination of changes or stresses…
For example, a new medication, sleep deprivation or a change in environment may
cause delirium when the body is already acutely stressed by blood loss,
dehydration, infection or heart attack.”

As
White mentioned, in line with the Mayo Clinic’s possible triggers for delirium,
Jackson was apparently sleep deprived, fasting, and by drinking energy drinks
instead of water, he was effectively dehydrating his body.

“Apparently
they tell us he’s over it now,” White stated of Jackson’s delirium episode. “He
is healthy mentally and physically. He will be back in the UFC soon.”

“But
that was the worst mistake I ever made, I got Dana over my back all the time.
‘Did you eat? Did you sleep? Drink your water?’ It’s like I’m two years old,
but it’s all good,” he continued. “I love Dana man.
He’s the first one to really take care of me and show me love.”

Despite
the pair’s assertions that Jackson will be back in the UFC, seemingly sooner
rather than later, White admitted Jackson still has a road to go down before
he’ll be able to return to the Octagon.

While
leading police on a chase, Jackson allegedly hit a 2007 Cadillac Escalade
driven by 38-year-old Holly Griggs, who happened to be pregnant at the time,
according to the Daily Pilot newspaper in Newport Beach. About a week later,
Griggs suffered a miscarriage, losing her baby.

Officials
have not yet filed charges against Jackson.

“Yah,
he’s got some legal issues, definitely,” stated the UFC president. “The first
thing we were worried about was that Rampage was okay physically, mentally…
he’s okay. Obviously, with what happened, he’s got some legal issues he’s got
to deal with now. Definitely.”